Savvy British Property Investor Buying in United States

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Peter de Savary is one of those players other players watch.

The British investor and developer specializes in super high-end properties with a glamorous old world flair, such as Skibo Castle in Scotland and the Abaco Club in the Bahamas. He also has a contrarian streak, such as his efforts to develop Grenada as a luxury destination.

That's why it's interesting to note that de Savary is buying real estate again in New England.

Last November de Savary paid $5.7 million for Vanderbilt Hall in Newport, Rhode Island, a 101-year-old landmark hotel which had been converted into time-share units in 2007. But the time share units "never sold," de Savary told the Providence Journal, and he has rebranded the property as a "hotel mansion," a membership club.

De Savary followed up in April by taking a 50 percent in the Brown & Howard Wharf development. The project has been rebranded as the Vanderbilt Residences at Brown & Howard Wharf, offering 16 units priced between $2.75 million and $3.5 million, which includes membership privileges at Vanderbilt Hall.

There are only seven units remaining, according to a press release.

In 2005, de Savary sold two of his New England properties, a mansion called Oakwood in Newport and the Carnegie Abbey golf course in Portsmouth, suggesting he was backing away from his U.S. holdings.

Instead he's buying again.

"Simply, I think we've sort of hit the bottom of the recession," de Savary told the Providence Journal. "I think things will get better in the coming period, not worse."

De Savary said he is only looking for projects that are "unique and distinctive and different."

A former America's Cup sailor, de Savary said Newport and Charleston, South Carolina "two distinctly appealing places for Europeans."

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